Bizav Basics

"If I took a private jet to Boca, I could save a whole travel day on both ends." When a thought like this pops into your head, it can trigger a process that ends up as a thoroughly memorable experience-or one fraught with frustration. As with most things, the more time you spend in the beginning, the better you'll come out in the end.

You've decided to buy a jet. Maybe it was your most recent airline trip from hell that convinced you. Perhaps a growing business commitment increased the need for easy access to locations where even Southwest doesn't go. Or maybe you just want the freedom and excitement of private flying and would like to be able to keep your golf clubs and favorite sweater on the airplane.

Very light jet. Super-midsize. Ultra-long-range. These are just some of the names that manufacturers, analysts and aviation journalists use to try to pigeonhole business jets into market niches. But with so much fragmentation in the field and a blurring of traditional lines, such attempts at classification are becoming harder than ever.

Managing construction of a hangar or leasing an existing one isn't as easy as you might think. You may face obstacles ranging from local zoning laws to FAA regulations to insurer mandates. Here's what you need to consider.

I stopped paying serious attention to fashion years ago. But just out of curiosity, I do check with younger colleagues every now and then to see whether my Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses are in or out of style. I'm told they're in again. That makes at least six cycles since I bought them. By the time you read this, it could be seven.

A growing number of travelers are turning to chartered aircraft as reports of airline delays, canceled flights and deteriorating service become routine. Combined with the advent of per-seat purchase options and block-membership programs, aircraft charter has emerged as an cost-effective alternative to other means of travel for many people.

You probably don't give much thought to the windows in your airplane's cabin. With the tasteful interiors and all the office and entertainment amenities available on private aircraft today, the windows might seem as though they exist solely to shed natural sunlight on the hand-rubbed rosewood finish of the pop-up computer desk.

Digital text messaging might be the preferred communications medium of the future, but when it comes to air traffic control (ATC), pilots and their counterparts on the ground still need a live human voice at the other end of the earphones. Texting may be fine for many forms of messages aloft, and in fact, it has been widely used for years by airlines and many business-jet operators.

Inner beauty really does trump outward appearance-especially after factoring in comfort and utility. Your aircraft's interior, from the suppleness of the seats to the entertainment system, has a huge impact on both ownership experience and resale value.

Quote/Unquote

““CEOs go to their vacation homes just after companies report favorable news, and CEOs return to headquarters right before subsequent news is released. More good news is released when CEOs are back at work, and CEOs appear not to leave headquarters at all if a firm has adverse news to disclose. When CEOs are away from the office, stock prices behave quietly with sharply lower volatility. Volatility increases immediately when CEOs return to work.”
—David Yermack, a New York University finance professor, whose recently released study shows a correlation between when CEOs take their private jets on vacation and movements in their companies’ stock price
”